Rassie Erasmus responds to the notion that the All Blacks have shielded Eden Park record from Springboks
Springboks back Pat Lambie scores at Eden Park against the All Blacks and an inset of head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Rassie Erasmus has responded to the notion that New Zealand Rugby has shielded the All Blacks’ Eden Park record from the Springboks.
South Africa will return to the ground dubbed as the All Blacks ‘fortress’ for the first time in 12 years this Saturday in round three of the Rugby Championship.
New Zealand last tasted defeat at the venue back in 1994, falling to France, but now they boast a 50-game unbeaten run, which includes two draws. One of those stalemates came against the Boks shortly after the loss to Les Bleus.
Since that draw, the All Blacks have hosted the Boks at Eden Park on just four occasions, with fixtures between the two nations taking place in Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, Hamilton and other grounds in Auckland.
New Zealand won all four of the other meetings at Eden Park, beating the Springboks 55-35 in 1997, 26-15 in 2001, 32-12 in 2010 and 29-15 in 2013.
Motivated to end Eden Park record
The lack of fixtures between the rivals at the All Blacks’ spiritual home ground has fueled speculation amongst fans and pundits that New Zealand Rugby has purposefully avoided hosting South Africa there in order to protect their unbeaten record.
Erasmus was asked if he believed that to be the case on Monday, and the Boks boss was wary not to give a direct answer.
“I remember when they took us to places like Albany, Mount Smart, and Wellington. When we beat them at Wellington, they took us back there the next year again to maybe rectify that, and I think it was a draw,” he replied.
The head coach added that there is no better motivation for the Springboks than to end their rivals’ unbeaten run at Eden Park.
“We know the record at Eden Park, and I really don’t think that can motivate us more,” he said.
“For us to play New Zealand in New Zealand, number one and two in the world currently, there isn’t really anything else that can motivate you more.
“Australia beat us two weeks ago at Ellis Park, and that’s done and dusted, that record is gone, but now it’s over, it’s onto the next match.
“People make a hell of a hype about that, but internally, you can’t get more motivated. You play New Zealand in New Zealand.”
Though the record is something that South Africa will be targeting, Erasmus explained that it is no different to any other Test match against the All Blacks in New Zealand, with a Springboks victory in Aotearoa being a rarity in itself.
“Since I’ve been involved, it’s just twice that we haven’t been beaten here, and we drew one of those. It’s massive to come and win here,” he said.
“To win the World Cups was great, and so was the Lions Series, but we haven’t been very successful here over the years. So for us, not even the Eden Park thing, just to win in New Zealand is a massive thing.”
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Not taking the All Blacks lightly
Last week, former Springboks boss Jake White wrote in a column that the All Blacks’ aura had disappeared after their defeat to Los Pumas in Argentina.
That came off the back of several scathing reviews of New Zealand’s performance, including one renowned journalist dubbing Scott Robertson’s team as the ‘dirtiest and dumbest’ team in the world.
Despite the scrutiny, Erasmus is not taking the All Blacks lightly.
“We always say that there are a couple of realities. There’s what the All Blacks believe is their reality in their camp, and then there’s what we believe is a reality in our camp, and then there’s a reality out there which people believe in,” he explained.
“For us, they’re the All Blacks, and they’ve lost one game this year; they have won eight out of their last 10 matches, and they’re number one in the world.
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“They’ve lost to Argentina in New Zealand before, and it feels almost like people are making out that this away loss is worse than what happened in New Zealand. We lost against Argentina last year, and we are eight out of our last 10 games.
“We kind of know what they’re going through, and I wouldn’t say a soft spot for what they’re going through, but we know how tough it is when it’s almost your first-choice sport. I know we’ve got football, which is big, but we’ve got 60 million people, and I think there are 15 million avid supporters in South Africa.
“It’s your main sport here, and people are taking it very personally, but we have to stay in our reality that it’s a New Zealand team that’s only lost once this year and have won eight out of their last 10. We know they are right up there.”
